Knife splashing

Chapter 414: Mountain Village Ritual
"The Ba people cooked the salt field?"

After hearing this, Li Yan frowned slightly.

"Yes."

"Fast Boat Zhang" nodded and said, "There are many such places. They can be seen everywhere in Badong Wushan, along the Yangtze River, especially in Wuxi. You can even see Cuban hanging coffins."

"There's nothing special in there. Occasionally you can find some broken pottery and ironware, but they're worthless, so no one cares."

"This is not surprising."

Wang Daoxuan looked around and stroked his beard, saying, "This is where the ancient country is located. It is near Wuxi River, which is probably the Wuxiang country mentioned in the Classic of Mountains and Seas."

"The State of Ba obtained the salt, but they did not weave or trade it, but used it as clothing, and did not plant or harvest it, but used it as food. They relied on the salt trade to have food and drink, so salt was called 'Salt Ba'. Later, the state was destroyed because of this."

"The 'Dweller in the Mist' has its lair in the salt field. I think its roots are probably related to Cuba..."

As he said this, he looked at Li Yan.

Li Yan understood what he meant without any explanation.

The most terrifying thing in the world is time. If you don’t become a god, it will all be an illusion, even for those ghosts and monsters.

From the barbaric era to the present, we can still survive...

It’s definitely not an ordinary ghost!

"This matter cannot be taken lightly."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, then said, "Help the Zhang family get through this disaster first, and then make plans after we figure out the origin of that thing."

Zhang Sibei was a little disappointed. According to his thinking, since he was an expert, he should have strangled the evil spirit directly. Why was he so cautious?
But seeing that "Clipper Zhang" obeyed Li Yan's words, he didn't know what to say, so he had the grave refilled and returned.

As for the snake, it seemed to be frightened and would rather die than enter the village. It quickly disappeared into the bushes.

It was already afternoon when we returned to Jinyangping.

Looking at the mountain of swords that had been set up outside the door, Li Yan pondered for a moment, then stepped forward and bowed to Xie Chengzu, saying, "Senior, we found something..."

Xie Chengzu is a local sorcerer. He insisted on staying here. Although there is a sense of fighting spirit in his heart, he also has good intentions.

To prevent any accidents, Li Yan did not hide anything.

"The old saltworks?"

After hearing this, Xie Chengzu frowned even more tightly. "I don't know what that 'guest in the fog' is. The only thing I can do is to communicate with him tonight and try to find out his background."

"If something happens again tonight, you should persuade the Zhang family to move away as soon as possible. Whether it's Qingcheng or Wudang, as long as they live at the foot of the mountain, that thing shouldn't come to cause trouble."

"That's what senior said."

Li Yan smiled slightly and tried to ask again: "Senior, I think your divine cloth is quite good, I wonder if you can give it up?"

Xie Chengzu raised his eyebrows, his eyes full of suspicion, "I discovered that thing by accident, and it comes in handy."

"If you really want it, then...just give me two thousand taels!"

Buying and selling magic tools was not a big deal, so he gritted his teeth and quoted a considerable sum, intending to bargain.

Unexpectedly, Li Yan directly stretched out his hand and said, "Deal!"

"Lao Sha, give me money!"

"what?"

Xie Chengzu was a little confused, and after a moment of hesitation, he nodded and said, "Okay, that thing is yours. And the 'Living God's Coffin' is not a good thing. Once it is taken out, it will be useless. It is better to destroy it as soon as possible."

Li Yan was so generous that he felt like he was being taken advantage of.

But he didn't understand this thing, and it was of little use to him. He might as well exchange it for some silver and renovate the ancestral altar...

After returning to Zhang's house, everyone immediately started to get busy.

Wang Daoxuan walked around the house with a compass in his hand, inserting a few red sticks from time to time, wrapping them with red ropes and tying them with talismanic coins.

Lu San caught the increasingly fat rat Lao Er and gave an order. All the house rats in Jinyangping became restless and ran to all directions to monitor.

Sharifei and Wuba each prepared their weapons.

As for Li Yan, he came to the box where the "Duhuo Shen Coffin" was placed and grabbed the dirty red cloth without saying a word.

In an instant, a force surged into the Daluo Dharma body.

Li Yan closed his eyes slightly and looked inward.

I saw that the texture on Daluofa's body changed again.

Originally this treasure was made of broken bluestone, but after being repaired and strengthened, it has become ceramic.

But now, light golden lines have appeared on it, outlining the platform below, as if to draw a contour.

Unfortunately, the fortune contained in the divine cloth was too little, and it only outlined two lotus petals before it had no effect.

Still increasing in intensity!
Li Yan felt inexplicably disappointed.

It’s not that it’s bad, but there are no new changes.

The Daluo Dharmakaya now has three changes.

The first is to repair, the second is to strengthen, and the third is to absorb the divine power to increase the power and length of the Soul-Hooking Thunder Rope.

Perhaps, only by further improving the Daluo Dharmakaya can new changes occur...

The covering cloth was no longer effective, and the aura of "Duhuo" reappeared, and this time it was more clearly felt, with a seemingly medicinal fragrance, but it also carried an uncomfortable chill.

Li Yan seemed to be thinking about something and put his hand on it again.

This kind of precious medicine is also a treasure from heaven and earth.

However, it is more appropriate to use precious medicines for treating diseases and refining medicines. For example, the precious medicine Trillium they found was refined into a pill by Wang Jing. Once taken, it can immediately stop bleeding and heal wounds.

At the critical moment, it can save lives.

He has a Daluo Dharmakaya, but his other companions can use it.

It would be a pity to destroy the one in front of us.

It was the first time for Li Yan to absorb the precious medicine. According to speculation, this kind of thing with strong vitality can usually be used to repair the Dharma body.

Sure enough, a fortune poured in, and the already perfect Daluo Dharma body did not change at all.

Li Yan frowned slightly, stopped immediately, took out a soul-breaking flying knife, and directly cut the coffin-shaped Duhuo in half.

A stream of black water flowed out along with a cold and foul smell.

Flowing along with the black water was a strange insect. It looked a bit like a cicada, but had the body of a centipede. Its body was stiff and it had already died.

Others also came to watch.

Seeing this, everyone shook their heads, and no one recognized this thing.

When Li Yan looked at the insect, he inexplicably thought of the earthly immortal body that Liu Gang and his wife had prepared for him.

This thing is the flesh and blood body prepared by ghosts and gods for themselves.

Could it be the same path...

Although this strange insect was dead, it still smelled foul and gave off a disturbing odor, and was obviously not a good thing.

"and many more."

Li Yan was about to destroy it with thunder magic, but Wang Daoxuan suddenly spoke up and shook his head, saying, "I have recently come up with an idea. We can use the Seven Arrows Secret Spell to make this thing into a trap. Even if we can't kill the evil thing, we can still find its location."

Sharifi beside him said happily: "Master, you are so talented in spells, why do you have to hide it all the time? Why don't you just change your career..."

Wang Daoxuan smiled bitterly and shook his head, not knowing what to say.

Jokes aside, the Taoist was very determined. He quickly found a straw man, made hand gestures and wrote talismans. Finally, he stuffed the insect into the straw man and tied it up with red thread.

Wang Daoxuan's altar was set up in the backyard, and the front yard was a theater. Li Yan walked out of the yard again, and after planting all the five Luofeng flags, he was completely ready.

He glanced into the distance, murderous intent flashing in his eyes.

With so many preparations, even if the opponent is a mountain god, he will be skinned alive.

Their strength is no longer what it used to be...

…………

clang!clang!clang!
As night falls, gongs and drums sound.

The entire Zhang family compound was brightly lit, while other residents of Jinyangping all closed their doors and hung peach branch charcoal at their doors to ward off evil spirits.

The village is remote, and in the past when someone came to perform a play, even if it was the worst troupe, they would run to join in the fun.

But now, no one dares to approach.

Having walked in the mountains for many years, they are even more taboo about these things.

The Zhang family was wealthy, so they would not be stingy when it came to funerals, but many servants had run away, and even the hired chef had left early.

Therefore, the food is not really good.

Meatballs, tofu, winter melon, cabbage, and bacon were stewed in a big pot, and soaked with unleavened flatbreads, which was enough to fill the stomach.

Li Yan, Sha Lifei and Wu Ba each took a large bowl and squatted on the steps in the front yard, eating while watching the show.

That "yellow kid" usually comes to take souls away at midnight.

It was still early and they were already prepared, so they naturally had the leisure to watch the show.

This troupe was quite respectful, and even though there were only a few of them, they still performed the show in an orderly manner.

Dangdang Dangdang!
There was a rapid sound of gongs and drums, which served as the opening music.

Afterwards, a girl dressed as a young female role appeared on the stage, moving lightly with small steps. She held four calligraphy pieces in her hands and hung them in the four directions while singing.

Written on it are: blessing, wealth, longevity and happiness.

Then, another clown ran out to the clapperboard, shaking his head, winking and singing: "The first month of the year is the New Year, and the sound of firecrackers celebrates the New Year. The spring breeze in February is like a pair of scissors, cutting out willow leaves that are thin and clever..."

This is the blackboard writing "December", which can be found almost everywhere in the country. Together with the characters given before, it is called "Dingtai" in some opera troupes.

After the stage is set, the main show begins.

They use the local dialect and their singing style is similar to folk songs, with a rural flavor. It is completely different from Qinqiang and Chu opera.

To be honest, it's not worthy of being presented in a high-class setting, but it's quite interesting.

Li Yan and his friends couldn't understand a lot of what they were saying, but they could vaguely tell that they were singing "Zou Ma Jian Ge", which had been sung with a lot of folk slang. The civil and military officials were puffing their beards and glaring, which made everyone laugh.

Xie Chengzu was sitting in another room, holding a wooden board made of ox horn in his hand, burning incense and praying, shaking it.

Since nightfall, he has been doing divination, once every half hour, and his face is becoming more and more ugly.

Finally, after the disciples finished singing a piece of music, Xie Chengzu came out and shouted, "Stop singing, set up the altar, and start!"

"Female relatives, the elderly, and those in poor health, all leave the Zhang family. No matter what you see, don't come over."

"You guys, follow me and get ready!"

In order to prevent any accidents, Zhang Sibei also asked him for help.

As for Li Yan and others, they politely declined. They came to help, and if they took the money they would lose their status.

It was originally taboo for two gangs to attack at the same time, but the situation was complicated at the moment, so both sides used their own methods to help the Zhang family overcome the disaster.

Soon, an altar was set up outside.

The appearance of the altar is somewhat similar to that of Taoist Xuanmen, but the statue enshrined is a majestic white tiger.

The Tujia people believe that all things have spirits.

Some of them worship ancestor gods, such as the ancient earth king, the eight great gods, etc., while others worship the Meishan god.

They worship the white tiger because they call themselves "descendants of the white tiger."

Xie Chengzu was also ready. He wore a red robe, a black cloth on his head, and a ferocious Nuo mask on his face.

The altar was filled with smoke and amid the sounds of gongs, drums and suonas, Xie Chengzu, wearing a Nuo mask, danced and chanted incantations, holding up a handful of incense to pay respect to the gods of heaven and earth in all directions.

Although it is different from Taoist Xuanmen, Li Yan can still smell a vast force gathering from the mountains and forests.

This is the evil spirit in the mountains, with a hint of majesty and solemnity.

White Tiger God…

Li Yan vaguely guessed the identity.

Secular gods cannot be separated from incense and offerings.

The identity of the White Tiger God is the ancient Linjun, the founder of the Ba State. The Tujia people have been worshipping him from generation to generation for thousands of years. Naturally, he is a powerful folk god.

This is also where the country of Cuba is located, and its power is even greater.

Xie Chengzu also entered a wonderful state. He held salt and scattered it everywhere, held a cow horn in his hand, chanted a spell, and took off his shoes.

Next to the altar, there were three young men, with bare upper bodies, black cloths wrapped around their heads, and barefoot, bowing to the altar.

Call ~
A strong wind blew, and the salt on the ground rolled up and gathered at the feet of the young man in the middle, gathering more and more.

The young man's eyes rolled back in an instant, his whole body trembled, and he stood up in a strange posture.

Xie Chengzu immediately stepped forward, carried the young man on his back, waved the horns, and walked towards the mountain of knives step by step.

The mountain of knives is divided into two parts, one part is horizontal on the ground, and the other part forms a ladder, hanging high up.

Seeing that everyone was staring intently, "Fast Boat Zhang" whispered, "I've heard of this thing before. There are seventy-two of them on the ground, called 'ground-stepping knives', and thirty-six on the ladder, called 'sky-stepping knives'."

Wang Daoxuan said thoughtfully: "There is a bit of Ji Tong Fa, and also the way of Tian Gang Di Sha. It seems that the Tu Han is merging, and the magic is also changing..."

"Roar!"

When he came to the ground knife, the originally trembling disciple suddenly seemed like a different person. He raised his head abruptly, let out a tiger roar, leaped out with a whoosh, and stepped directly on the blade.

"hiss--!"

When Sharifei saw this, he gasped.

It's not fear, but an instinctive chill on the back.

The blade was extremely sharp, flashing coldly under the torch, but the disciple fell heavily but was unharmed.

He was dancing as he walked.

Xie Chengzu was also there, waving ox horns, chanting spells, and performing Nuo dances, as if to cheer him up.

Call ~
Just after taking twelve steps, a cold wind suddenly blew up.

"coming!"

Li Yan frowned slightly and looked into the distance.

It was a moonlit night, so everyone could see clearly that in the dark forests in the distance, white fog was rolling in like a tide, quickly submerging the entire village.

"Something's wrong!"

Li Yan suddenly felt a chill on his spine, and an unpleasant smell rushed into his nose, which seemed vaguely familiar.

Guanzhong, caves, Japanese monks…

Wang Daoxuan, who was standing by, also frowned and said with an unpleasant expression, "What 'guest in the fog'? It's clearly a demon god, a strange aura of heaven and earth. No wonder Lingyun Temple can only suppress it."

"Quick, let them stop the ritual!"

(End of this chapter)